Roche Gene Test Promises
To Tailor Drugs to Patients

Roche Holding AG is launching the first gene test able to predict how a person will react to a large range of commonly prescribed medicines, one of the biggest forays yet into tailoring drugs to a patient's genetic makeup.

The test is part of an emerging approach to treatment that health experts expect could lead to big changes in the way drugs are developed, marketed and prescribed. For all of the advances in medicine, doctors today determine the best medicine and dose for an ailing patient largely by trial and error. The...